    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [November 9, 2004]
    [Pages 2954-2955]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Visit With Wounded Troops at Walter Reed Army
    Medical Center
    November 9, 2004

        Listen, I've--Laura and I have just toured
    one of the wards upstairs. I am--every time I come to Walter Reed, I'm
    struck by the courage and bravery of our men and women who wear the
    uniform. It's such an honor to meet the troops who are wounded. And it's
    so uplifting to see their spirit, their drive to become rehabilitated,
    their love of their country, their support of the mission.
        Laura and I spent time with the moms and dads
    and husbands and wives of those who are wounded, and I was struck by
    just the patriotic sense that they have and that--their strong support
    for their loved ones.
        Every time I come to the hospital, one of the things I try to
    determine is to--whether or not our troops and their families are being
    treated with first-class care. It's very important for all of us
    involved in decisionmaking to know that a troop who had been injured in
    Iraq or Afghanistan is immediately brought to care. And to a person,
    they were very strong in their support and praise to how this hospital
    is run.
        I want to thank the generals, the doctors, the nurses for running
    this hospital. I mean--it's such a comforting sense for me to be able to
    tell a loved one, ``Your person hurt, your loved one will get the best
    care possible.''
        And finally, we've got troops in harm's way in the Fallujah area
    right now, and our prayers are with the soldiers and their loved ones as
    they're doing the hard work necessary for a free Iraq to emerge. There
    are still terrorists there who are trying to stop the march of freedom.
    And at the request of the Allawi Government and
    alongside of Iraqi troops, coalition forces are now moving into Fallujah
    to bring to justice those who are willing to kill the innocent and those
    who are trying to terrorize the Iraqi people and our coalition, those
    who want to stop democracy. And they're not going to succeed.
        And so we wish our troops all the best and Godspeed to them as well.
    Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:01 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim Government. A tape was
    not available for verification of the content of these remarks.

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